Minstrels and Vaginas

My lovely girlfriend brought a museum to my attention. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. When she first mentioned this to me I was pretty bothered. I didn't understand why something like this would be ok. Why is it ok to put on display all of these racist things? Things that have caused so  much pain for so many generations of black families. I didn't get it. I really didn't. And then I went to the website, and on the website it says that they are "using objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice." Now, I fskw about the word tolerance; it just does not have an altogether positive meaning because to tolerate something is like you are just putting up with it. Like, you know it's there, you don't like that it's there, but you are going to set those feeling aside and "tolerate" the existence of this said thing. It's like a silenced dislike for something, and I do not think that is or should be the goal of anything in regards to civil rights.

****http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/index.htm****

With that being said, I think I would actually go to this museum. Yeah I said it. I would. I feel as though there is a lot to be learned there, and I have SOME knowledge but I am not an EXPERT by any means on the Jim Crow Era. So, yes, I would go to the museum, and I would suggest that others go as well, specifically those who are not black, so that they too could see and experience what it was like to live in America during those years.

Apparently, because my girlfriend's best friend ran across this museum, they began talking about minstrel shows. I'm sure most of you have heard of the minstrel shows...black face.  It was basically white people, with black painted faces, making Black people look and sound stupid, in order to make their white counterparts chuckle.  Then, this expanded into Black people also being minstrels. Painting their already black face even blacker, making their lips bigger, and making themselves stupider to make white people laugh. It was not a good way to live.


Of course, these minstrels are in the Jim Crow Museum. The so-called father of minstrelsy was Thomas Dartmouth Rice.

 Here is a compilation of "Darkening Up" clips:

Do I really need to say anything about this? I really question the minds of the people that thought this was a good idea. Or good entertainment!!! I mean c'mon, they obviously did not value black people, they were still thought of as property, or as savage animals (which is exactly how the Black Man was portrayed).

As horrible and crazy as all of these things are, a lot of people do NOT know anything about this part of our history, and in a sense this museum can really do something to change that. I don't see anything wrong with people increasing their knowledge as long as these people do not actually have malicious intentions.

On to the vaginas.......

In my Gender & Violence class we talk about a lot of interesting things...even though we haven't actually gotten into the meat of the content yet (We have only met 2 times, and it's a once a week class). One of the interesting things we talked about was the Vagina Monologues. Now, I have always wanted to go, but I never had the guts to ask anyone to go and it just never worked out. So, I am making it my GOAL to make it there this year. Some students came and presented about some people in the class volunteering, and after they showed this video, for some reason I knew that I just REALLY wanted to go. IDK this stuff is just right up my alley!

***NOTE: The video goes black for a little while at the beginning, but just be patient lol

Judge me all you want, but it is what it is!!